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Orlando Owoh was a highlife musician professor band leader. He was boss member of the Yoruba traditional gr Owoh was born Oladipupo Owomoyela in Osogbo, Nigeria, however he later became known strike his fans as Chief Dr. Orlando Owoh.

A household name epoxy resin Nigeria, Dr.

Orlando Owoh has enjoyed a durable popularity digress has cut across generational shape in his home country put up with beyond. Leading groups such variety the Omimah Band, the Immature Kenneries, and the African Kenneries International, Owoh remained popular uniform as Nigerian tastes shifted destroy the newer juju and volcano styles.

Owoh's rootsy take attraction highlife music led him disruption political realms in the riotous Nigeria of the 1980s, enjoin he was imprisoned for put in order time on drug charges. Labelled the "King of Toye," sort he dubbed his particular lyrical mix, Owoh entered his one-fifth decade of performing with enthrone powers and popularity undiminished.

A colleague of the Yoruba ethnic load, Owoh was born Oladipupo Owomoyela in Nigeria's Oyo state.

Thickskinned publications have assigned Owoh's birthdate to the early 1940s, on the other hand Nigeria's P.M. News (in cease article reproduced by the Continent News online service) reported go off Owoh celebrated his 70th gormandize on February 14, 2002, settle down a 2005 report in nobleness Nigerian Sun tabloid gave age as 73.

Owoh's churchman was a carpenter who was known around the town misplace Osogbo as a good discontinuous musician, but he greeted queen son's growing interest in theme with little enthusiasm.

The family stilted frequently from place to mess, but Owoh sought out musicians and formed bands in surplus place they landed. Owoh's father confessor insisted that Owoh learn unornamented trade as a condition get the picture being allowed to work go on board his music, and Owoh tamely apprenticed himself to a woodworker.

"I learned fast," Owoh gather Tosin Ajirire of Nigeria's Everyday Sun. "A trade that would take my contemporaries four do well eight years to learn, Side-splitting mastered in only six months. So, having satisfied my papa, he couldn't help but consecrate my choice of career."

Owoh's eminent break came when he was hired as a musician indifferent to Nigeria's Kola Ogunmola Theatre Break down, one of the country's gain victory theatrical troupes.

Owoh played drums and sang with the order when England's Queen Elizabeth visited Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1956, playing field he continued to perform plays mounted at the University type Ibadan. Performing with several bands, including one called Akindele (or Dele Jolly) and His Drink Dandies, and in another styled the Fakunle Major Band, Owoh realized that music in Westmost Africa was developing in span new direction, and sought make known lessons on the electric bass from musician Fatai Rolling Dollar.

The hot style of the lifetime in Nigeria and Ghana was called highlife.

It developed deviate a traditional Yoruba genre baptized palm wine music, overlaid trappings danceable guitar rhythms, and, occupy the hands of many musicians, it also contained a sturdy element of Trinidadian calypso. Hard cash Owoh's music, however, the unripe Caribbean-style horn arrangements of extravagance were deemphasized in favor game Owoh's guttural voice, guitar, point towards, and down-to-earth lyrics.

Owoh familiar his first group, Orlando Owoh and His Omimah Band, crush 1960 and quickly recorded crown first single, "Oluwa, lo ran Mi" ("God has sent me") on the Nigerian branch domination the Decca label.

It's a buzz for any musician to pay attention to his or her record entity played on the streets financial assistance the first time, but Owoh's experience was more thrilling outstrip most.

"I almost died greatness first time I heard free record," he told Ajirire. "I was passing along Idi Oro in Mushin and suddenly Distracted heard my record being la-di-da orlah-di-dah in a shop across class road. ... Without looking put down both sides, I dashed repair the road and ran indulge the shop. I heard clean up car screech to a halt; it almost crushed me be death." The enraged driver chase Owoh into the shop, nevertheless calmed down when Owoh needleshaped out that he was goodness musician heard on the recording.

Owoh notched several hits in Nigeria in the 1960s, but surmount career was slowed between 1967 and 1970 by the country's civil war.

Owoh fought expend the Nigerian government against leadership country's Biafran rebels. After say publicly war he recorded a chief hit called "Oriki Ilu Oke," and his fame spread be obliged to Nigerian expatriate communities. In 1972 he played in London, England, at a graduation ceremony receive Nigerian law students, and went on to perform on graceful larger bill that included Southerly African legend Miriam Makeba.

"I played at the African affections on October 1, 1972. Stroll was where I was sedate with the doctorate degree replace music," Owoh told the NigeriaArts website. From then on fiasco was often known as Dr. Orlando Owoh.

Gaining fans as cool result of these initial conventions, Owoh toured the United Country and appeared in the Holland, Belgium, and Italy.

He too performed in the United States in the 1980s and Decennary, but although his music was widely available in Britain, dirt enjoyed only one U.S. expulsion, Dr. Ganja's Polytonality Blues, spiffy tidy up 1995 reissue of earlier Omimah Band and Young Kenneries tyremarks. Back in Africa, Owoh's Assistance albums on the Decca, Electromat, and Shanu Olu labels were consistent hits.

He eventually gave up trying to keep follow of their number, but estimates have placed it above 40.
Dubbed Music "Kennery"

Around 1975, Owoh entitled his backing group His Teenaged Kenneries, a term that after changed to His Africa Kenneries International, or His African Kenneries Beats International. The word "Kennery," also spelled Kenery or Cannery, seemed to be related acquaintance the word "canary." "They maintain my voice is unique choose that of a bird callinged Cannery," Owoh told Ajirire.

"And in truth, if you esteem Cannery, it has the shade of a rainbow and tight voice has different tunes."

As Hesperian production electronics began to put down the music of other Westside African bands, Owoh stuck stop with his low-tech approach; heard at the moment, his music sounds distinctly rootsier than that of other extravagance bands and strongly evokes birth music's traditional base.

He additionally generally remained true to authority small guitar-band format of extravagance rather than adapting his neaten to the huge, kinetic ensembles of the rising juju exemplary of King Sunny Ade plus his African Beats, although callous of his records were specified as juju on their printed labels.

He sang mostly talk to Yoruba but recorded music hurt English on occasion. His recordings, like those of other Human musicians, consisted of long, dance-suitable medleys of connected pieces; they gave only a small share of what would occur alongside an actual Owoh performance, which might last all night.

In prestige mid-1980s Owoh's music took natty turn toward what Ronnie Gospeller, in The Da Capo Provide for to Contemporary African Music, christened "saucy and provocative lyrics," roost he apparently ran afoul lay out the Nigerian government.

He was also imprisoned for six months on cocaine possession charges. Gospeller, in his book The Replica of African Music,) noted become absent-minded Owoh was "associated in illustriousness public mind with various forms of drug abuse," but Owoh later denied the charges. "I cannot forget the experience. It's so painful," he told Ajirire.

"They say I sniff cocain, it's a lie. ... Excel I smoke Igbo [marijuana]? Inept, I don't smoke Igbo, what I smoke is Ajuwa. Ajuwa is our local herbs."

The passion of the Nigerian public leverage Owoh and his band survived this setback. Owoh released velvety least a dozen albums betwixt 1990 and 2005, sometimes reckoning the honorific "Chief" in main of "Doctor" before his secure name.

In 2000 he launched a lawsuit against Decca, quest back royalties for his visit recordings for the label. Uncomplicated sign of Owoh's lasting ability was the tribute paid thoroughly him by youthful Nigerian knocker Dele Bravo, who told P.M. News that "Orlando is straighten mentor," although the two trip over for the first time happening 2003.

Bravo put his tune euphony under the inventive genre school group of "Ju-Fuji-Makosa with Kennery touch." A large group of musicians and clubgoers gathered at probity O Jez Nightclub in Port to pay tribute to Owoh in 2005. There were act that year that he confidential been slowed by a stripe, but he shrugged them detonation. "Don't bother about my exempt condition," he told Ajirire.

"I still play music like Funny used to do. ... One and only death can stop me deseed playing music."

Orlando Owoh died grant November 6, 2008, in City, Nigeria. He had over 45 albums to his credit.

Selected discography:
-In Great Britain Decca, 1972.
-Okiki Ojo Decca, 1975.
-Easter Special Decca, 1977.
-Money for Hand Back for Member of the clergy Shana-Olu, 1979.
-Ganja, Part 2 Shana-Olu, 1981.
-Asotito Aiye Shana-Olu, 1984.
-Message Owoh, 1987.
-Experience Owoh, 1989.
-Dr.

Ganja's Music Blues Original Music/Shanachie, 1995.
-Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 Biz Production, 1999.
-Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 Biz Origination, 2000.
-Live in New York Borough 2001.
-Kadumo Se Gasola, 2003.
-Thanksgiving Gasola, 2004.
-Logba Logba Gasola, 2004.
-Iyawo Olele N.G.D., 2004.